Walking brace



March 15, 1938. G. w. AHLER WALKING BRACE Filed Aug. 15, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l [rwenlor 15, 1938. w AHLER' 2,111,018

WALKI NG BRAGE Filed Aug. 13, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet ,2

Inventor Homey Patented Mar. 15, 1938 w UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,111,018 WALKING BRACE George William Ahler, Colton, Calif. Application August 13, 1935, Serial No. 35,995

6 Claims. (01. 3-1) My invention relates generally to body braces, rod l5, which includes the adjustable part It and particularly to a body and leg brace adapted which directly engages the pin I4, slidably ento be worn by a person having limited use of his ters the longitudinally adjustable and removable legs, to enable the wearer to walk without the ascylinder head I! which is threaded on the cylinder 2'5, sistance of crutches or canes, thereby retaining l8 in whichworks the guide plunger [9 which acts the free use of the hands and arms, and an imas an abutment for one end of the rectangular portant object of my invention is to provide a cross section expansion spring 29 whose opposite mechanically efiicient arrangement of this charend works against the inner side of the cylinder acter which is of very great assistance to the top I! and normally draws the piston rod l into 10 wearer and is comfortable to wear. the cylinder so as to swing the upper end of the 10 Another .important object of my invention is upper section II in a left hand direction as shown to provide an arrangement of the character inin-Figures 4 and 1 so as to swing the lower exdicated above which can be worn either within tremity thereof in a right hand direction to push or outside of the clothing. or swing the complete leg brace forwardly into Other important objects of my invention will the forward striding position shown in dotted 15 be apparent from a reading of the following delines in Figure 1. The cylinder I8 contains a scription in connection with the drawings,wherequantity of fluid lubricant l8.

I in for purposes of illustration -I have shown a The lower end of the cylinder l8 has a lug 2i preferred embodiment of my invention. which is pivoted as indicated at 22 to a rearwardly In the drawings:--- 7 extending part 23 on the lower end of the plate 7. 20

Figure 1 is a general side elevational view of The brace section II is pivoted as indicated at 24 the arrangement showing in dotted lines a fortothe plate I as shown in Figure 4. ward striding position of the device. The leg brace which is generally designated 25 Figure 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view is composed of the upper section II, the inter- 25 taken through the upper part of Figure 1 and mediate section 26, and the lower section 21, and 25 showing the leg brace in front elevation. the leg brace is either in the form of a pair of Figure 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view sectional members one on the inner side of the through an intermediate portion of Figure -2, leg and one at the outer side of the leg, or in the showing the latching arrangement. form of a single outside member. For illustrative Figure 4 is a transverse vertical sectional view purposes two members. are herein shown as clearly 30 through the upper part of Figure 2 disclosing the indicated in Figure 2. The intermediate section operating cylinder mechanism. 26 has its upper end pivoted as indicated at 28 Figure 5 is a transverse vertical sectional view in a bifurcated member 29 on the upper end of taken through Figure 1 approximately on the line the intermediate section 26. The pivot 28 like 5-5. all of the other pivots in the structure is equipped 35 Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral with a bronze or similar bushing 30 so as to reduce 5 generally designates a belt which may be adwear and prevent looseness of the joints. Heads justably strapped front and back by buckle strap 3! on the opposite ends of the pin 28 hold the bimeans 6 around the waist of the wearer just above furcations together and an opening 32 in the the hips. At one side or at both sidesof the lower end of the bifurcated member 29 admits 40 belt 5 is attached a support plate 1 of suitable the latch 33 to engage a notch 34 in the rounded metal which is enclosed by a hollow cover 8 also lower end 35 of the upper section Ii in such a secured to the belt 5. The sides of the belt havposition that with the latch engaged in the notch ing 2. depending portion 9 which is coextensive 34 the upper section and the intermediate secwith the shield 8 and forms a non-chafing rest tions are locked in longitudinally aligned arrange- 45 upon the side of the hip of the wearer. ment.

A pivot 10 extending laterally from the lower The latch 33 works in an opening 34 in the upend portion of the support plate 1 has pivoted per part of the intermediate section 25 and the thereon, the upper section I l of the leg brace latch has an arm 31 which works on a rod 33 which has on its upper end a portion l2 which on which is circumposed an expanding spring 39 50 is curvedly slotted as indicated by the numeral whose upper end works against the lower end of l3 to receive abradded pin I3 fastened to the porthe latch arm whose lower end works. against a tion l. The pin has thereon a roller bushing to flange 40 on the rod' which has therebelow 2. reduce friction and a felt washer between the finger knob 4| for operating the latch. The rod head and the arm. The upper end of the piston has an extension which: is pivotally connected as 55 indicated at 42 to one end of the rocker 43 which is pivoted as indicated at 44 on the outer side of the intermediate section 25 and has its opposite end pivotally connected as indicated at 45 to the upper end of another rod 46 which has its lower end equipped with a flange 4'! working against the upper end of a spring 48 whose lower end works against another latch 49 which operates in an opening 58 in the lower end of the intermediate section 25 to engage the rounded end i of the lower section 27 to lock the same in longitudinal extension of the intermediate section in the manner already indicated, the upper end of the lower section 21 being notched as indicated by the numeral 52. A guard plate 53 is connected to the outer side of the bifurcated member 29 and to the outer side of the bifurcated member 54 which is on the lower end of the intermediate section as clearly shown in Figure 2. The upper end of the lower section is pivoted as indicated at 55 within the lower bifurcation 54.

The lower end of the lower section 21 has a horizontal part 56 which goes under the instep of the foot of the wearer. In the case where an inside brace is also provided the part 56 has at its laterally inward end a brace lower section 21 which is pivotally connected to the lower end of the intermediate brace section 26'.

The brace sections are connected by metal straps 53 and 58 which extend around the back of the upper leg of the wearer and flexible straps 59 and Bi! which extend around the front of the leg of the wearer and are provided with suitable buckles El. The lower section has rear connecting bands 62 and B3, and front flexible straps 64 and 65. The strap 51 is of leather.

With the device of the invention in place on the wearer, with the sections of the leg brace in longitudinal extension of each other, it is necessary, in order to permit the wearer to sit down with the leg bent, to push the finger knob'4l downwardly so as to release the latches 33, 49, thereby permitting the sections to pivot relative to each other. As indicated by the numeral 66 the upper end of the lower sections 2'! and 21' have squared portions which prevent these sections from swinging forwardly beyond longitudinal alignment with the intermediate section.

When the wearer stands up and places weight on his foot, these sections will become aligned and the latches will snap into place so as to form a rigid whole of the leg brace both inside and outside members and when the weight is taken off the foot, the spring 2!! in the cylinder 18 will expand and pull the member l2 downwardly to the rear and thereby swing the lower end .of the brace outwardly in a forward striding motion, thereby materially assisting the wearer to step forward and continue walking supported by the device of the invention.

Due to the adjustability of the compression of the spring in the cylinder M3 by adjusting the cover ll, the assistance which the device of the invention gives to forward striding movement of the leg may be changed according to the condition of the wearer. A plurality of vertically spaced holes 6! in the member 23 enables lengthening or shortening the brace within limits to accommodate different leg lengths in different wearers.

Although I have shown and described herein a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be definitely understood that I do not desire to limit the application of the invention thereto, and any change or changes may be made in the materials,

and in the structure and arrangement of the parts, within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the subjoined claims.

What is claimed is:-

1. A walking brace for the leg, said walking brace comprising means for connection to the trunk of the body, a support plate on the outer side of one side of said means, a sectional leg brace on said support plate and depending therefrom, pivot means connecting the leg brace to said support plate below the upper end of the leg brace, means for removably connecting the leg brace to the leg of the wearer, and means mounted on said support plate and connected to said leg brace above said pivot means for vertically swinging the leg brace in a forward striding motion when the weight of the wearer on the corresponding leg is relieved.

2. A walking brace for the leg, said brace comprising means for connection to the trunk of the body, a support plate on the outer side of one side of said means, a sectional leg brace on said support plate and depending therefrom, pivot means connecting the leg brace to said support plate below the upper end of the leg brace, means for removably connecting the leg brace to the leg of the wearer, and means mounted on said support plate and connected to said leg brace above said pivot means for vertically swinging the leg brace in a forward striding motion when the weight of the wearer of the corresponding leg is relieved, said means comprising a lubricant containing cylinder having therein a spring-pressed plunger.

3. A walking brace of the character described comprising means for connection to the trunk of the body, a support plate on the outer side of one side of said means, a sectional leg brace pivoted to depend from said plate, pivot means connecting the leg brace to said support plate below the upper end of the leg brace, means for removably connecting the leg brace to the leg of the wearer,

a transversely elongated element on the upper end of said leg brace, and means mounted on said plate and pivotally and slidably connected to said transversely elongated element for vertically swinging the leg brace in a forward striding motion when the weight of the wearer of the corresponding leg is relieved.

4. A walking brace of the character described comprising means for connection to the trunk of the body, a support plate on the outer side of one side of said means, a leg brace depending from said plate and composed of sections pivoted together, means for removably connecting the leg brace to the leg of the wearer, pivot means connecting said brace to said plate at a point below the upper end of the leg brace, and means mounted on said plate and connected to the upper end of said leg brace for vertically swinging the leg brace in a forward striding motion when the weight of. the wearer of the corresponding leg is relieved, and manually releasable latch means on said sections and arranged to hold said sections in longitudinal alignment with each other, said latch means being releasable to permit said sections to pivot relative to each other.

5. A walking brace for the leg, said walking brace comprising means for attachment to the body of the wearer above the hip joint of the leg, a support plate carried by said means, a leg brace, means pivoting said leg brace on said plate to depend therefrom, said leg brace including means for attaching the same to the leg of the wearer, the upper end of said leg brace being formed with an element rising above the pivotal point of the leg brace and provided in its upper part with a transverse arcuate slot, and a stop pin on said support plate engaging said arcuate slot for limiting the swing of the leg brace in forward and backward directions.

6. A walking brace for the leg, said walking brace comprising means for attachment to the body of the wearer above the hip joint of the leg, a support plate carried by said means, a leg brace, means pivoting said leg brace on said plate to depend therefrom, said leg brace including means port plate engaging said arcuate slot for limiting the swing of the leg brace in forward and backward directions, and dashpot means operatively connected between said support plate and to said element at one end of said slot for swinging said 10 leg brace in a forward direction.

GEORGE WILLIAM AHLER. 

